Official! Mani Ratnam dismisses Sai Abhyankkar rumours; reunites with AR Rahman for Vijay Sethupathi-Sai Pallavi film

With the buzz going on about Mani Ratnam’s next directorial, the makers of the film have made it official and dropped an announcement poster with no heads up, confirming the union of actors Vijay Sethupathi and Sai Pallavi in the lead roles. Opposed to the speculations that Mani Ratnam will be opting for Sai Abhyankkar music, the director will be reuniting with AR Rahman once again for the yet to be titled film.

What is Mani Ratnam’s next film?

Ace filmmaker Mani Ratnam who had a bad outing with his last release, Thug Life, in 2025, has announced his next film. The announcement came after Vijay Sethupathi confirmed collaboration with the director in a recent interview.

On Friday, the makers affirmed that Mani Ratnam’s upcoming directorial will star Vijay Sethupathi and Sai Pallavi in the lead roles, making their first onscreen collaboration. It will also mark the first time the latter is working with Mani Ratnam, while Vijay Sethupathi has already appeared in Mani Ratnam’s 2018 crime drama Chekka Chivantha Vaanam.

Did Mani Ratnam choose Sai Abhayankkar over AR Rahman for music?

There were speculations that Mani Ratnam had opted to break his collaboration with AR Rahman and chose upcoming musician Sai Abhayankkar as composer. However, the latest announcement has debunked the claims with the veteran filmmaker choosing his regular collaborator AR Rahman for music.

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It is to be noted that ever since Mani Ratnam introduced AR Rahman in his 1992 film Roja, the duo has gone to collaborate for every movie of the filmmaker since then, for over three decades now. That being said, the makers are yet to reveal any further details about the upcoming film, including its title, rest of cast and crew.

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Where to watch Vijay Sethupathi’s last film Gandhi Talks on OTT?

Vijay Sethupathi was last seen in Gandhi Talks which is now streaming on ZEE5 via OTTplay Premium. The film is silent with no dialogues and scored by AR Rahman. Meanwhile, Vijay Sethupathi’s upcoming series Kaattaan is also gearing up for release on JioHotstar on March 27.